I am a marine ecologist who studies how global changes (sea-level rise, climate change, nutrient enrichment, invasive species) affect coastal ecosystems. With 7 billion people on the planet and a predicted growth of 9 billion by the time I’m thinking about retirement (2050), our impact on the planet will likely continue to grow. I am interested in how ecosystems will be altered as viewed through the lens of animal and plant responses to global changes. For instance, how does increasing sea-level affect trophic interactions in intertidal communities? In this way, I can address questions of how global changes can affect top-down (consumer) and bottom-up (resource) control of communities, food-web structure, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and the role of species traits (behavior, morphology) in structuring communities. Most, but not all, of my research is focused consumer-consumed interactions.

Science Communcation

Science communication, beyond publishing in peer-reviewed journals, is a critical component of my science. Much of my communication has been via newspaper articles and essays. Some of this stems from my being fascinated with the natural world and wanting to share those experiences with others. It also stems from my desire to take science from the dusty e-files of arcane journals and make that information available to a broader audience. In that vein, you can follow my blog and follow me on Twitter @DavidSamJohnson.

Current Projects

The TIDE Project: an ecosystem-level nutrient enrichment experiment to examine the effect of nutrient run-off on marsh ecosystems.

Crab Trax: I am monitoring the northward migration of crabs into the Gulf of Maine as associated with climate change [see Johnson 2014 and Johnson 2015 below]